Central govt debt swells to Rs54.94tr in January 2023

March 07, 2023 (MLN): The total debt of the central government surged to Rs54.94 trillion in January 2023, compared to Rs47.8tr in June 2022, witnessing an increase of Rs7.15tr or 15% YoY in 7MFY23, the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday.

On a sequential basis, the central government debt increased by Rs3.94tr or 7.73% MoM compared to Rs50.9tr recorded in December 2022 while on yearly basis, it posted a jump of 29.5% YoY against Rs42.39tr in January 2022.

The increase in debt burden is primarily attributed to borrowing from domestic and foreign sources to cover the fiscal deficit.

As per details made available by SBP, the larger portion of the debt was domestically clocked in at Rs34.25tr, signifying a growth of 25% YoY, comprising Rs27.51tr long-term debt and Rs6.69tr short-term debt while the remaining was external.

By the end of January 2023, the government’s long-term debt increased by 27% YoY when compared to Rs21.66tr recorded in the same period a year ago.

Similarly, the short-term debt inched up by around 17.2% YoY as opposed to Rs5.7tr in January 2022.

Within the long-term domestic debt, the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) accounted for Rs20.9tr, jumped by 34.11% YoY. Meanwhile, in the short-term domestic debt, Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) amounted to Rs6.62tr, up by 17.23% YoY.

On the other hand, borrowing through Naya Pakistan Certificates has moved up by 23.13% YoY to stand at Rs49.5bn in January 2023.

A breakup of the central government's external debt shows that nearly Rs20.6tr came from long-term loans while Rs91.8bn came from short-term loans.

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